I am always reluctant to visit the doctor.  In the U.K. I was encouraged not to go to the doctor if I had a cold or a flu. It can be hard to know what exactly is wrong when I’ve had a bad cough and back in 2006 I got very sick when I didn’t have a chest infection treated quickly enough.  In Japan you are supposed to go to see the doctor as soon as you suspect you might be ill.  I have been trying to do this but I still worry that I’ll be wasting the doctors time with something silly.

Yesterday I went to see the doctor about my cough and he encouraged me to behave like the Japanese whilst I live in Japan.  He told me that it was better to be sure and pointed out that my cough was indeed bronchitis and treating it sooner was better.  He gave me four different types of medication, which is three more than I’ve ever gotten before.  I have antibiotics, something for the cough, some sort of expectorant, and a patch to help me breath at night.  I don’t really like the patch, as I was warned that it could make me shake, but I did manage to sleep last night.

I can’t imagine going to see the doctor for every cold or headache but I should probably stop worrying that the doctor will think I’m wasting their time when I do finally go.